"Two days later this same performance was gone through under exactly similar circumstances.
"两天以后在完全相同的情况下又照样表演一番。
Again I changed my dress, again I sat in the window,
我又一次换上衣服,又坐在那窗户旁边,
and again I laughed very heartily at the funny stories of which my employer had an immense repertoire, and which he told inimitably.
听我的东家讲他那说不完的可笑的故事,我又一次不禁尽情大笑。
Then he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and moving my chair a little sideways,
后来,他递给我一本黄色封面的小说,又将我的座椅向旁边移动了一下,
that my own shadow might not fall upon the page, he begged me to read aloud to him.
以免我自己的影子遮挡了书,他央求我大声念给他听。
I read for about ten minutes, beginning in the heart of a chapter,
我从某一章的当中开始念了差不多十分钟,
and then suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and to change my dress.
忽然间正当我念到一个句子的半中腰时,他就叫我停止,并去更换衣服。
You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly be.
你不难想象,福尔摩斯先生,我是多么难以理解这种异乎寻常的表演究竟是什么意思。
They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face away from the window,
我察觉到他们总是小心翼翼地让我的脸背着那扇窗户,
so that I became consumed with the desire to see what was going on behind my back.
因为我心中充满了想看看我背后到底发生了什么事情的愿望。
At first it seemed to be impossible, but I soon devised a means.
起初,这好象是不可能的。但我很快想出了一个办法。
My hand-mirror had been broken, so a happy thought seized me, and I concealed a piece of the glass in my handkerchief.
我有一面手镜打破了,我灵机一动,偷偷地把一片碎镜子藏在手帕里。
On the next occasion, in the midst of my laughter,
在下一次的表演中,当我正在发笑的时候,
I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able with a little management to see all that there was behind me."
我将手帕举到眼睛前面,稍为摆弄一下,就能够看到我背后的一切了。"